


Still Expecting the Most

by Jassmine



Series: The Starling and the Rake [6]
Category: Mansfield Park (1999), Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Genre: Character Study, Confusion, F/M, Falling In Love, Fear, Feelings, Introspection, Marriage, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jassmine/pseuds/Jassmine
Summary: Mary always expected the worst of people. She loved good company (except for the times when she loved bad company even better), but always guarded herself because no one could have been trusted – especially with her heart. Because everybody is taken in at some period or other – most of all when it comes to marriage.When I watched Mansfield Park for the first time, I hated Mary. Now watching it again and reading book, I absolutely love her. She is so interesting and so different from Bertrams and I love watching their dynamics and communication. This is mostly mix of passages from Chapters IV, V and VII and a little bit of my interpretation.
Relationships: Edmund Bertram/Mary Crawford, Mary Crawford/Tom Bertram
Series: The Starling and the Rake [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726675
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Still Expecting the Most

**Author's Note:**

> Please note, that English isn't my first language and I don't have a beta. So, I will be glad for all your suggestions and comments on grammar (or whatever else you feel like commenting).
> 
> I intended this to be a little bit longer, especially the last part, but I got stuck. I think it’s because I only saw the first glimpses of Mary’s interest in Edmund, so I let it like it is even if it is mostly quotations and I will return to this subject later.

Mary always expected the worst of people. She loved good company (except for the times when she loved bad company even better), but always guarded herself because no one could have been trusted – especially with her heart. Because everybody is taken in at some period or other – most of all when it comes to marriage. She watched how unhappy her aunt was and concluded that of all transactions, a marriage is the one in which people expect most from others and are least honest themselves.

That was why she was so practical in all her decisions and why she was trying to be honest with others, even when it was considered improper by some members of polite society. (She remained dishonest on other subjects, but then she was often dishonest to herself too.) That was also why she convinced herself that Tom Bertram would be a perfect partner for her. He _should_ be perfect for her. He had been much in London and had a large acquaintance there and had such a liveliness and gallantry about himself. He was also the eldest of family and that couldn’t be put aside – it meant baronetcy and park, real park, five miles around, a spacious modern-built house, so well placed and well screened as to deserve to be in any collection of engravings of a gentlemen’s seats in the kingdom, and wanting only to be completely new furnished. Aside from his excellent spirits and easy manners he also had pleasant sisters, a quiet mother and father who tied up his unpleasant gaming habits. All those reasonings might sound very unromantic, but she believed she should accept him. She knew her calculating was sound, but she was still afraid of expecting too much. She was still afraid of being taken in.

After Tom’s departure she started to spend more time with Edmund and was astonished how different his point of view on everything was. How high his morals were and he himself so pure and kind. He didn’t share most of his brother qualities (uppermost the house and income) and she felt her reason slipping away. Could anyone as good as Edmund ever take her in? And this new trust and carefreeness of her was what frightened her much more than being clergyman’s wife. Because she was expecting the best of him and that was the most dangerous thing to do.

**Author's Note:**

> I just love the fact that Mary was initially interested in Tom, it is so very her. And I also love how very honest she is, so openly – and Edmund disapproves… I am surprised by how much I like them together.


End file.
